Michael Badnarik is a Constitutional scholar, and the author of Good to be King, a beginner's guideto the Constitution and the Bill
of Rights.

Michael travels across the country teaching his highly acclaimed class on the Constitution to growing
numbers of people suddenly interested in "life, liberty, and property". He is also available to speak to community
groups on a variety of subjects related to private property and individual rights.

Michael was the 2004 Libertarian
nominee for President of the United States, 2006 congressional candidate in Texas, and was recently elected President of Continental
Congress 2009, which met in St. Charles, Illinois to document government violations of the Constitution.

Three controversial elements of the PATRIOT Act that expire February 28 are sadly likely to be renewed, at least temporarily,
and probably more permanently. Democrat Diane Feinstein of California wants it extended until 2013. This plan has the support
of the Obama administration. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans want it renewed permanently.
But the original sponsor of the Patriot Act, Wisconsin Congressman James Sensenbrenner, wants a temporary extension while
hearings are held before a long-term or permanent extension. In any event, three troubling provisions are likely to be extended and, as the ACLU notes, it seems they purposely waited until the last minute.

Three sections of the Patriot Act
— the so-called ‘library provision’ that allows a secret court to issue orders for anything deemed relevant
to an investigation; the roving wiretap provision that allows the government to get a wiretap order that doesn’t specify
the person or place to be tapped; and the ‘lone wolf’ provision, which permits intelligence wiretapping of people
not connected to a terrorist group — are scheduled to expire on February 28.

…

For almost 10 years, the Patriot Act has given the government too much leeway to pry into our
private lives. It’s long past time for Congress to stop making excuses and sneaking through reauthorizations and start
making meaningful reforms to the Patriot Act.